Better Storytelling By Design

24 Hour RPG: Traits II

Well, I failed the 24 Hour RPG challenge, but I’m still going to complete the game. Here are two more Traits, Abilities and Backgrounds. I have four more Traits which are almost finished, Grit, Destiny, Qualities, and Experience.

ABILITIES

Abilities represent skills and talents that a character excels at. Most every action can be tied to an Ability and only one Ability can apply to a single action. So while hogtying a calf would fall under Animal Ken, hogtying an outlaw might fall under Security. If a character has ranks in both, then only the higher bonus applies.

Every Ability has a Key Attribute and that Attribute’s rank applies to any Action Rolls employing that Ability. If a character doesn’t have an appropriate Ability for an action, she suffers a negative two penalty to her Action Roll. Below is a table of Abilities, but Judges should feel free to add new Abilities as necessary.

Ability

Key Attribute

Example Actions

Acrobatics

BF

Walking along ledge, flips, cartwheels

Animal Ken

MF

Training a horse, driving cattle, hogtying

Athletics

BP

Jumping across a ravine, climbing a wall, swimming

Brawl

BF

Wrestling, boxing, and unarmed martial arts

Crafts

MP

Makin’ stuff

– Blacksmith

Beating hot metal into horshoes, daggers, and picks

– Bowyer/Fletcher

Shaping bows and arrows

– Carpenter

Building furninture, homes, and barns

– Cordwainer

Manufacturing stagecoaches and wagons

– Machinist

Mechanically removing metal to form firearm barrels

– Mortician

Preparing the dead for display and burial

– Potter

Making pots, mugs, and plates from fired claw

– Saddler

Turning leather into saddles and bridles

– Tailor

Stitching cloth and leather into clothes

Demoltions

MP

Digging mines and blowing up safes

Gambling

MF

Playing Faro, Poker, or Craps

Knowledges

MP

Remembering stuff

– Biology

Ecosystems, life cycles, and general bodily function

– Chemistry

Combining elements to create useful substances

– Engineering

Building bridges, understanding structural integrity

– Geogprahy

General and detailed information about regions

– History

Understanding how things in the past shape our future

– Linguistics

Reading, writing, and speaking languages

– Local

Knowing who’s who

– Medicine

Understanding disease and mending the body

– Occult

Understanding native rituals, Christianity, or the sasquatch

Intimidation

MF

Putting fear into a man for a purpose, or not

Melee

BF

Inflicting harm with weaponry

Perception

MF

Being aware of your surroundings and spotting detail

Persuasion

MF

Negotiating, bluffing, and diplomacy

Riding

BF

Motivation via our hoofed friends

Security

BF

Implementing or circumventing security

Shooting

BF

Putting a bead on your enemies

Stealth

BF

Sneaking and hiding

Streetwise

MF

Obtaining information from locals

Survival

MF

Tracking, hunting, and knowing what to eat

Cost: New Rank x 5
Maximum Rank: 5 + Legend

BACKGROUND

A Background is a Trait that represents a character’s history, training, and to some extent, a character’s potential. Background traits allow characters to overcome some of the limitations imposed by the Legend Trait. Backgrounds are usually professions like Cowpoke and Bounty Hunter, may also describe events or geography integral to a character’s history, such as Donnor Party Survivor or New Yorker.

A Background has two key Abilities. The Legend rank limitation for these key Abilities are removed, allowing the character to purchase ranks in those Abilities greater than their Legend rank. Every character begins play with a single Background.

Background Table:

Background

1st Key Ability

2nd Key Ability

Bounty Hunter

Shooting

Survival

Cowpoke

Animal Ken

Riding

Lawdog

Security

Shooting

Mountaineer

Animal Kem

Survival

Outlaw

Shooting

Streetwise

Prospector

Demolitions

Engineering

Teacher

Any Knowledge

Any Knowledge

Young’n

Any Knowledge

Special

The above table is just a list of example Backgrounds. Judges and Players should feel free to create their own. They’re easy to create, just pick a descriptive name and then choose two Key Abilities. Those Abilities are now free of Legend limitations. However, of special note is the Young’n Background; it allows a player to choose a Background during play. A Judge should only let Backgrounds with this special ability be created after some contemplation.